Just like Stars
by brown-eyedBlunder
Summary: Amarant, through a stupid act of kindness, falls from the airship and nearly dies. Then, someone finds him and helps him. Frustration and heated arguements ensue. Seriously, there's never been a woman who's infuriated and puzzled him this much. AmarantxOC
1. You Fell Off Of An Airship?

**Disclaimer:** Well, as some of you readers might already know, I totally don't own TMNT or Tales of Symphonia, and likewise, I totally don't own Final Fantasy IX. Sad really. I mean, the things I could **_do_** if I came into possesion of it would be absolutely mind-blowing! Like remaking the game with voice-overs and having Crispin Freeman play the voice of Amarant! (starts drooling) That'd **_definetly _**be at the top of my 'To Do' list!

Oh, and I don't own Corrine Bailey Rae's song Like a Star

Well, I suppose there's nothing else I can say but read and enjoy so... read and enjoy!

* * *

If I was better, maybe it wouldn't have happened.

Maybe I wouldn't be sitting up against this big-ass rock, bleeding my damn guts out and... and wishing.

Wishing I'd been able to do something.

Dammit.

Amarant stared from under the hood of his hair at the starry night sky. The deep beyond. What the hell was out there in that "beyond" that fascinated people anyway? Just a bunch of stars and sky, endless, going on forever, but at the same time, dying and being reborn. Like most of the people he'd met in his life, they were cold, uncaring, and powerful. But at the same time... not like the few people he'd met only weeks ago. Not warm, not thoughtful, not... compassionate.

Stupid stars. They get so hard to see when you're dying.

It was his own damn fault in the fist place, he supposed. He _**had **_jumped.

**Flashback:**

_"Eiko, get away from the railing, you'll fall over!" Zidane had called. She hadn't heard him, she was too busy staring at the sights below her to focus on anything else._

Perhaps if she _**had**_ heard, his life wouldn't slowly be ebbing from his body right now.

_She leaned over the rail, "Look at it Zidane! It's so big!"_

_"It's just a forest, there's nothing so special about it." he muttered, standing near the rail as well, arms crossed across his chest, face blank and impassive._

_"Well sor-ry! I've never really traveled before I met you guys, you don't have to be an ass about it!" the eight-year-old snapped angrily._

_That was right... she'd only lived in Madain Sari all her life, occasionally heading over to Conde Petie, A.K.A. Dwarfland, to steal some food._

_Sometimes Amarant would forget that she'd not seen the world as he had._

_The ship hit some turbulance and she went over._

_"Damn brat, why didn't she listen?" the bounty hunter growled, going over after her._

_A stupid move, he'd later on realize._

_As he sped towards that little annoyance, gaining on her, he thought, 'Why the hell won't she summon anything?'_

_He wrapped his arms around the girl, shielding her body, and saw, eyes widening, that she couldn't._

_She was unconcious, a thine line of blood trickling from her forehead up, into the open air. Little droplets spattered across his face as they hurtled closer and closer to the ground._

_He didn't even know that she'd hit her head._

_He held onto her tight as his body splintered trees, his face was whipped by limbs, and his legs and arms were lashed by branches. His shoulder landed particulary hard on a heavy branch, and he felt something crunch as he hit the ground._

_Then... he blacked out._

_When he had awoken, pain ripped through his side like a searing, slicing, burning blade. He would've roared in pain but when he tried, his voice only came out as a small wheeze, then came in coughing fits accompanied by blood-mixed saliva. He could feel them, his ribs, lumped together in odd positions, jagged fractures all up his side._

_His breath came in short gasps, and when the throbbing in his head finally subsided, he let out a pitious groan, "F-f-fuck."_

_His eyes closed for a slight second, then shot open again as his arms, though weakened, clutched nothing but air. "Damnit!" he muttered, causing himself to have another blood-hacking fit._

_The girl was gone._

_Dead or walking around somewhere, he wasn't sure._

_Damn brat. He hoped she got lost and died in this forest! That this was her grave, as well as his! It'd be only fair for abandoning him like that, leaving him for dead. If he came back as a monster or something in the like, he was going to kill her first. _

_Then the monkey._

_He half-dragged, half-crawled to a large boulder, and made himself sit against it, his head leaning up towards the sky._

**End Flashback:**

He stared up into the deep blue and thought, _'So this is what it's like to die... figured as much.'_

The red dreadlocked man supposed it wasn't the worst way to die. Very few of those in his line of work, hell, anyone just on the other side of the law, had the rare chance to die so... peacefully. He furrowed his brows and spat feebily at the ground. Forget that, this _**was **_the worst way to die. He hadn't put up a fight, he hadn't gone out in a battle. He was just sitting here, waiting for Death to come and claim him.

Amarant let out a puff of air, hacking and wheezing again. The amount of blood he'd lost was unknown to him, but surely, it had to be enough for him to die quickly...

... or so he'd thought.

The edges of his vision were beginnging to get blurry, and as he decided to close his eyes and just... give in, he swore he heard something... jingling.

The was also a voice. A melodic voice that accompanied the jingling; slow, sad and, oddly enough, _**pleasing**_ to his sensitive ears.

He caught snipits of a song. Parts of lines. Sad and yet, at peace.

_"... wonder why it is, I don't argue like this, with anyone but you..."_

_"You do it all the time..."_

_"... blowing out my mind..."_

He decided... he decieded he liked it, it brought him a certain calm, none which he'd ever experienced before.

He could die... not "happy", no, "happy" wasn't the word for it. "Comfortably" maybe, "content" maybe, but certainly not "happy".

But then... the singing stopped.

Amarant grunted his frustration. His eyes were barely opened now and couldn't see much. From what he _**could**_ see though, he was being checked over by a person of some sort.

The person... who had been... singing?

He felt a warm hand on his face, causing the cuts to sting. He flinched, a hiss between his teeth.

"You're alive... good." the person muttered.

He took one last look at the stranger before he passed out again.

Hell if he was going to trust anyone anymore.

* * *

So... what'd ya think? Is it good? Bad? Review and tell me what'cha thought, and if you liked it, then I'll post more for ya!

Gratzi!


	2. Yep, That's Amarant

Hey guys! In case you haven't noticed, and I'll bet money you haven't, I've totally revamped this story! I've got a bunch of chappies all lined up and rarin' to go!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own FFIX... so sad... but oh well, you don't probably care. Right? Ha ha, just kidding. Anyways...

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

He couldn't feel any pain... he could only feel a warmth wrapped around himself, enveloping his body like a cocoon.

_'Am I... dead?'_ he thought.

_'No...'_ his thoughts replied.

_'I'm not dead... death would be, well I'm not sure what death would be, but I doubt it'd be as... comfortable as this.'_ he reasoned.

Something pressed against his lips... but even in his weakened state, he decided on not letting whatever it was pass its poison to his mouth.

Again he felt a hand against his face, though now... it didn't sting as much. Was it the same hand as before? He was going to find out either way, he might as well put up a fight. He turned his head to touch that hand and he did the only thing he could do.

He bit down on it. Hard.

The hand didn't move. Didn't quiver in surprise, didn't jerk away with fear. It just let him bite down, as if it was actually alright to bite someone's hand! Truly foolish on their part.

He bit down harder and tasted blood. Though if it was theirs or his own, he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that after he'd finished biting down a second time, the hand simply withdrew.

Something was pressed to his lips again... reluctantly... he opened his mouth and let the liquid in.

It was... water?

Nothing but water... but the very taste made his mind realize how thirsty he was. He gulped it down roughly, swallowing it and leaning forward to drink the last few drops.

Bad move.

He hacked, coughed and tasted more copper. Pain ripped through his body in waves... He was bleeding again, but he didn't care, that water was damn good.

"Easy stranger, don't overexert yourself... there's plenty to drink." a voice said, the hand returning to the spot on his face.

Wait...

That voice!

It was the same... the same as before, this was the voice that had sang that... calming song. He grunted and tried to lift his arm, tried to take the hand against his face away... it made him uneasy, that touch. After all, he _**had**_ just bitten the person.

The hand moved from his cheek to his hand, "You worry too much, and you need to rest. I'll let you alone for now."

The hand withdrew one last time, and he still couldn't tell whether or not that damn voice was that of a male, or a female.

He fell asleep still wondering.

He cracked an eye open, finding the lighting to be dim... must be early morning... or maybe early evening, he couldn't tell.

He searched for the face that possessed the hand, possessed the voice. He seemed to be in a small hut with a dirt floor, but damn well big enough for maybe three people sleep in.

There. Over in a corner sat a body and, though the lighting was dim, he was still able to make out the sleeping form sitting there.

It was a girl.

Brown-red hair reaching to mid-back, tan skin, tall... a nice rack, and skinny. She was wearing several bracelets on each arm, which explained the jingling. She looked frail, but looking around he saw that there was a broadsword leaning against the opposite wall.

_'I sure as hell don't use a broadsword.'_ he thought, snorting.

She mumbled something in her sleep, then cracked an eye open, "Ah, so you're awake, huh? I thought I felt someone watching me."

_'How could she have known that?'_ he wondered.

She crawled over, too lazy to really get up and walk. When she finally sat, she did so on her knees, sort of formal.

He thought,_'What was so "formal" about this crappy old hut?'_

Amarant looked down and noticed the bandages wrapped around her right hand.

An incredibly short pang of guilt swept over him...

_'Did I __**really**__ bite down __**that**__ hard?'_ he wondered.

She must've seen him looking at her hand because she hid it behind her back saying, "Hey, don't worry about it... you didn't know if I was friend or foe, so you were guarded. I probly would've done that too... though maybe not as hard."

She gave a short chuckle and he tried to speak, "W-wh-who a-are..."

Words failed him... it was too hard to say anything when your ribs were broken.

She understood what he was saying though.

"I'm Rosaria... and, um... I kinda live in this forest." she said slowly.

Rosaria? What kind of name is that?

She must've seen his expression because her next words were, "It's not a... it's... it's a special name from my village. I never wanted it but... that's what I got stuck with, heh."

He grunted... gods, this was stupid, listening to this broad run her mouth. He had better things to do.

Her eyes were latched onto the rogues' face. She tore them away, "Sorry."

He arched a brow.

"If I was talking too much. You seemed kinda... annoyed." she said still looking away.

Amarant didn't say anything, mostly because it was true. He sniffed the air and caught something.

It smelled good.

"You hungry?" she said, "I'd been making something to eat earlier... um, th-there's still some left, if you feel up to it."

His stomach growled.

Loudly.

She chuckled lightly, "Good answer."

The girl got up and walked over to a pot. There were still a few embers glowing under it and they lit up her face in a mix of golds and reds.

Pretty.

He growled, thinking like that...

...must be the blood loss.

She stoked the fire and stirred whatever was in the pot. Apparently she didn't hear him, or if she did, she ignored it.

Amarant watched as she ladled something into a bowl and brought it over. She set it off to the side and moved towards his head.

He arched a brow and thought,_'What the hell was she doing?'_

She took his head in her hands and... set him in her lap.

_'Forget that.'_ he thought.

He turned his body, ignoring the scream-inducing pain that ripped through his body, and fell back to the floor.

"What are you doing?" she cried, "You're only going to succeed in re-opening your wounds! Stop!"

She tried to turn him back over, tried to help him, but he didn't need any help!

Not now, not _**ever**_.

She struggled and he struggled right back, Amarant was going to make this as hard for her as possible.

Suddenly, as he finally threw her off of him...

She gave a sudden yelp.

Slowly... he turned his head to see.

The pot had been turned over and its contents were now soaking into the dirt, steaming.

He looked to Rosaria to find her laying on the floor, clutching her right leg in agony.

"Goddamnit!" she growled, "Why the _**hell **_did you have to go and make a stupid move like that? I was only trying to help you, you dumbass! Now..."

What a mouth.

She hissed as she tried moving her leg. He couldn't see if it was badly burned, but judging by how the pot itself was made of iron... it must've been pretty damn well enough.

He only furrowed his brows and looked away. He could hear her in the background trying hard not to whimper in pain.

What a girl.

He heard the door open, and she murmured, "I'm going out... I-I need to find something else to cook."

When she had gone he turned back over.

The broadsword was gone.

He lay on his back, the pain slowly subsiding... very slowly.

His stomach growled again.

He was still hungry. Amarant figured he probably spilled the bowl of whatever-it-was too...

He looked around.

The bowl was still next to him, untouched.

She had avoided it... and burned herself.

Stupid woman.

He sighed and began to reach for the bowl.

What a day.

* * *

Um... yeah, don't ask me **_why_** I had her do that... because I really don't know. Sometimes my hands get a little carried away regardless of what my brain is telling them to put down. Heehee, well, that's it for Chapter 2, so I hope you liked it!

Please review! It's fuel for my writing fire!


	3. Oh No You DiIn't!

Okay, I'm giving you guys chapters three and four early, so read and enjoy it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FFIX or any of it's related characters. I DO however own Rosaria and everything pertaining to her life, which would include village, family, backstory, etc.

Enjoy!

* * *

Amarant woke up to find Rosaria sitting near him. Asleep.

_'Apparently she'd come in while I was out.'_ he thought, mentally shrugging.

Her stomach growled.

The rogue rolled his eyes and snorted; so much for going to get food.

The light coming from the outside window was brighter now, so Amarant figured it must've been about mid-afternoon.

He tried sitting up, but was rewarded only with pain ripping through his side again. The bandages were secure enough for him to move around, but not enough for him to sufficate.

_'Who was that damn woman? Some kind of a doctor?'_ he wondered.

A doctor that wielded a broadsword. That was something new.

He leaned his temporarily crippled body against the wall of the hut and groaned. The pain was giving him one _**hell**_ of a splitting headache. Enough to cripple a Grand Dragon, to say the least.

He gave out another low moan.

Amarant gazed around, but his gaze kept landing on _**her**_.

Damn woman.

Her leg didn't seem in any better shape than before, still a bright red, still probably painful, but smaller now.

Why smaller though?

He shook his head and tried to reason, _'If she could use white magic, she would've used it to heal __**me **__already. So, obviously, she either had some medicine on her, or she's a really fast healer.'_

Which was more likely? That she'd have medicine in these backwater boondocks, or that she can heal faster than the average person?

He decided he'd ask her later.

She mumbled something and turned in her sleep, letting out a quick hiss of pain when her leg twitched the wrong way.

_'Idiot.' _he thought, chuckling a little.

HIs gaze then fell on the broadsword and his thoughts ran from there.

_'How in the __**hell**__ could a __**human**__ woman wield a weapon __**that**__ big? Sure, Lani wielded a greataxe, but that wasn't as big as what Rosaria is packing. It's about the same height as her. The women of my village could wield anything, for they were just as strong as the men, some more so.'_ he thought, pursing his lips in concentration.

Amarant scowled, _'But a human like her? No way.'_

What was it made of anyway?

It was an off-white color and had a strange marking in it. Like a backwards seven... curved at the bottom then leading into a down-pointing squiggle...

Very very strange.

Strange sword for a foolish woman.

But still... what was it _**made**_ of?

_'Marble? No, that'd be __**way**__ too heavy. White steel? Unlikely, that material was expensive as all get out. White __**gold**__? Even __**more**__ unlikely. Bone?'_ he wondered

The last one hit him like a rock to the head.

Bone.

But from who? From _**what**_? What, in all of Gaia, had bones that could actually be made into weaponry and not shatter from repeated use?

He scowled deeper.

_'This is giving me a headache._ ' he thought moodily.

Whatever, forget it. The red-haired rogue decided he didn't care if she was sleeping, he was gonna ask her.

"Hey." he said.

Nothing.

"Hey!" he said louder, "Wake up!"

She bolted up, "Wha... huh, what is it?"

"What's that blade made of?" he asked.

She gazed in his direction sleepily, "The... blade?"

Amarant rolled his eyes, "Of your sword."

Her mouth formed an "oh" and she nodded, "Giant whale."

He raised a brow, not that she could see it, and thought, _'Giant what?'_

"Giant what?" he asked.

"Whale," she said again, yawning, "You can only find them out in the most open parts of the sea. Very big creatures."

"I can tell." he muttered, "How'd you get it?"

"My tribe hunted it down," she said groggily, "they're harder to find than you'd think. Only come up for air every five days."

He snorted, "No way any animal, or any _**beast**_ for that matter, could live on one breath of air for _**five**_ whole days."

She shook her head, more awake now, "Like I said before, it's a _**giant **_whale, these things live under the sea and... well, I don't get how they do it, but they just can. Big lungs I guess."

It was silent for a moment, then she added, "_**I've**_ seen it before, _**I've**_ hunted it with my tribe before, _**you**_ haven't done either of the two. So there."

Amarant scowled even deeper, "What's the sign?"

"On the sword?" she said.

He thought about saying something, but decided against it because, after all, she was the stronger of them at the moment.

The rogue settled for a rude stare.

"It's my name, " she said quietly, "not the one I gave you, but my tribe name. Only the Elders are allowed to know it. That, and our Matches."

"Matches." he said flatly, "And those are?"

"Matches... are what we call our Life Partners." she murmured, "When we get... married? I think that's what city folk call it."

He nodded, then asked, "Have you ever even been to a city?"

She looked down, then looked at him, "Once... I went with my dad and my brother. It was a very large city. I think it was called... Lindblum... yeah, that's what it was. I met some fairly nice people, but that was twelve years ago. I was ten then..."

Amarant snorted; twelve years is enough time for people to change, "Fairly nice huh? Like who?"

"Thieves." she said, "Good people. Turns out, my people and their people have been friends for a very long time."

"You know a guy named Zidane?" he asked.

What? He wanted to know.

She shook her head, "Nope, but I do know a guy named Marcus, a guy named Blank, and a guy named Cinna. There are more... but there's too many to name. Though I do remember their leader is named Baku."

She paused, "Do you know a guy named Zidane?"

He spat, "Know him, yeah. Like him, no."

"So you aren't friends." she said.

He rolled his eyes, "No way would I be friends with him."

"Then how do you know him?" she asked.

"We travel together." he growled.

"With other people, I suppose?" she said, a brow raised.

Nosy little...

"Yeah, a bratty little summoner, a stupid pompous knight, a gender confused Qu, a pissy Burmecian, a indescisive princess, and a mage." Amarant snapped.

She chuckled, "Nothing bad to say about the mage huh? Well, I suppose that mage might not be like the others."

"Others?" he said, raising a brow, "What others?"

Her eyes widened. He supposed he wasn't supposed to hear that.

Or something.

She looked away, "The ones that burned down my village."

Amarant frowned, talking more to himself than to her, "Kuja attacked a village?"

"Kuja? Was that his name?" she asked.

He nodded, "But attacking a small vil-

"No, no. Our village is in the center of this forest, and it's very large and kinda spread out so... It's actually really hard to find. We were caught off gaurd. We were close friends with the city of Lindblum, we helped when help was needed, and vice versa." she said quickly, "But now..."

"What?" he said more than asked, guessing at the answer.

"They're all dead." she said, her voice flat and her eyes blank.

All dead?

Amarant was guessing the village being gone at most, either burned down or just destroyed, and some people having nowhere to go. Most of the people he would've guessed were already dead... but not _**all**_ dead.

"So," he started, "It's just you huh?"

She nodded slowly, then said, "Are you planning on finding Zidane... and the rest of the people you're traveling with?"

Shaking his head he replied, "No... I don't need them."

The woman frowned, "You know... there could always be the possibility that they might be looking for you."

"Looking for me? That's a laugh. They don't need me, we're not friends, so why would they look for me?" the rogue could feel himself getting very annoyed with all these questions.

_**Very **_annoyed.

"Maybe they like you? I don't know. Who can say for sure why they'd ever look for an ass like you?" she said, her voice heated.

"Who asked you?" he snarled.

"You did, dumbass! Just now! At least you've got _**someone**_ looking for you! Every person that cares about me is dead!" she snarled back.

Oh no.

Nuh-uh.

"Don't send me on a guilt trip just because you don't have anyone around to be nice to you anymore! I've been living alone, by _**myself**_, for most of my life!" Amarant barked, clenching his fists.

_'Oh if I could stand right now...'_ he thought angrily.

"Who says it's about me? It's about you, you and _**your**_ friends. Whether you like them or hate them, they're out there, right now! _**Looking. For. You!**_ Even the little girl, Eiko! She was hurt so badly, but she still left to go find help! To _**help**_ you!" she roared.

E-eiko?

... but she...

Rosaria stood, not even flinching at the pain tearing through her leg.

"I don't even know why I helped you, _**Amarant!"**_ she snapped darkly, as if uttering the name was poison to her.

He was startled,_'My name... she knew?'_

She took up her broadsword once again and headed out the door.

"Wait!" he started.

But she was already gone, the door slamming shut behind her.

_'Shit.'_ he thought.

_'Shit.'_

_

* * *

_Sheesh man, how rude. Although the argument totally got me turned around. I feel confused just thinking about it. Looki_ng _back on it though, I realize that it made sense_, _so I'm okay with it_._

R & R If you would, please and thankee sai._  
_


End file.
